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Obligatory Sonic Forces opinion
8 years ago
So...Sonic Forces came out...
I've seen opinions that it is an awesome game, that it is a terrible travesty.
It's...a good game. I'm not gonna say it's great or perfect, or that there arne't things it could have done better, but having finished the entire main game (Havn't got to do Episode Shadow yet), I will say it is a solid game...And since I'm a Sonic fan, I suppose I have to give an explanation, otherwise people will just say I'm some idiot diehard fan who will take any shit with a Blue Hedgehog in it. I will try and break this down as best I can.
Spoilers will follow.
First off is a complaint. I got the PC port on Steam, and for those who don't know, the FMV's on the PC port are bugged. It doesn't effect gameplay, but...It's the first thing you see on starting a game, how do you not catch that?
Moving on...
The levels are fun. Some are somewhat standard, for a 3d Sonic game, but fun none the less.
I would say Modern Sonic's levels are in a way, the weakest. Not to say they can't be fun, but most of them are on the tracks run forward with a lesser nod towards platforming. Modern SOnic's levels are usually the quickest and are a lot of Boost to Win until later in the game where roughshod boosting can send you flying off the edge. Modern Sonic stages are also playable as Shadow, but the only difference seems to be cosmetic (Unless I missed something, I didn't play as Shadow much, feel free to tell me if I am wrong).
Classic Sonic has 2d levels made to look 3d, of course, and they have more branching paths up and down. They play a bit more like actual classic sonic levels and usually seem to have at least three paths that criss-cross each other.
Avatar Levels, that is the levels for your OC, seem to have the most replay-ability, and this is because of something I will talk about when I cover the Avatar system.
There are also a few levels where Modern Sonic and the Avatar team up. These levels are more akin to the Modern Sonic levels with some of the Avatar variability I will elaborate on in the Avatar section.
The main uniting theme between the levels, style aside, is the enemies. The game itself has two difficulty settings, Normal and Hard, and the main difference in this is how hard you get hit. In Normal difficulty, you get his and you lose about 20 rings off your collection, but you are capped on what you can carry at 100 rings max, but most levels have so many rings that Normal should really be called Easy mode.
Hard mode is much more like a Sonic game. You can hold as many rings as you can pick up, but if you get hit, you lose them all (With one exception, mentioned later) and you have to scramble to get them, which I feel is some sort of balance. Normal only loses you 20 rings, but if you can only have your max hundred, it is hard to grab and hold on to your rings, limiting the hits you take. When 200 rings scatter at once, it's easier to nab them.
But all in all, the level itself is more of a threat than the enemies. Most enemies are easy to take care of and are stationary, allowing MSonic to just dash through, CSonic to spin dash or jump on them, or the Avatar to blast or homing attack them, but in my experience, the level itself (Spikes, pitfalls and crushers) are more of a threat, not to say mistiming your dash, or just plain inattentiveness, won't kill you off.
Bosses are few and far between, but they are fun and challenging, although a couple are more mechanically challenging, since lock on can be finicky.
All in all, the levels are fun, overall, and can bring some decent challenges as any character.
One of the major selling points on the game is the ability to make your own Mobian character. Lot of people ended up calling this DeviantArt-The game, but really, I like it. I do wish the body customization was a bit more in depth (Not asking for a titty slider, but some different body styles, maybe addable Stripes/spots/etc. would be nice), the clothing system is a fun little game of dress up (Although the fact that Body is the whole body, instead of having upper and lower body is kinda dorky). You can also choose from a number of different species each with a different passive ability (Although some species are notably absent, like Foxes, Bats and Echidnas. Not even a Chameleon.)
The main variant in your Avatar is the Wispon (Simply a Wisp powered weapon). There are about a half dozen varieties, and it actually adds a special level of replay value to the Avatar stages, considering the wispon has different power moves you can use when you find a wisp, allowing for different styles of exploration with each weapon.
That said, when dealing with most normal enemies, the wispons are very much overpowered and a few even just wipe all enemies off the screen, where as, with a few exceptions, most of them are weak against bosses when compared with your homing attack (Although some are still super powerful on bosses, when you can hit them with it). This means they kinda trivialize normal enemies and are almost useless against bosses, but higher level Wispons also have buffs (Start level with a shield, speed boost on landing, temporary invincibility upon getting 100 rings) that can be helpful or hurtful, but can further vary the play style.
Music is actually pretty solid. Really all I have to say. only drawback is some levels are too chort to properly hear it all, they might have too much other noise, dialogue, or it might be a Modern Sonic level where the music is softer when you aren't boosting.
Story is, honestly, kind of weak. Not saying it's bad, just rather bland. I feel like they could have played it a bit harder, a bit bleaker, had a couple of boss run in's that will end with an auto-fail to drum up the feel of a war. As someone who was a fan of SatAM, I kinda thought this was going to be more of an actual struggle.
Infinite's design is cool, but as an enemy, is kind of a pansy. Only his last run in is a real challenge and that's more because you have a more strict time limit than any other level. As a character, he's really not anything special, just the cookie cutter "I am strong, you are weak, you lose" and "I can't lose, I am stronger, you got lucky" sort of bullplop.
Eggman...Is Eggman. Really, he's as hammy and great as he always has been. His plan this time around is still pretty effective, and while he makes his usual missteps (Like not killing Sonic first chance he has, which he does have a couple times) he does take over the world and actually comes damn close to a full win. The final boss, one of his mechs, is a serious challenge and, even on normal difficulty, I would have lost if my Avatar wasn't a cat and held onto a single ring if he took a hit with more than one.
Generally a fun game. Some missteps and definitely not perfect, but not as bad as some people want it to be.
I've seen opinions that it is an awesome game, that it is a terrible travesty.
It's...a good game. I'm not gonna say it's great or perfect, or that there arne't things it could have done better, but having finished the entire main game (Havn't got to do Episode Shadow yet), I will say it is a solid game...And since I'm a Sonic fan, I suppose I have to give an explanation, otherwise people will just say I'm some idiot diehard fan who will take any shit with a Blue Hedgehog in it. I will try and break this down as best I can.
Spoilers will follow.
First off is a complaint. I got the PC port on Steam, and for those who don't know, the FMV's on the PC port are bugged. It doesn't effect gameplay, but...It's the first thing you see on starting a game, how do you not catch that?
Moving on...
LevelsThe levels are fun. Some are somewhat standard, for a 3d Sonic game, but fun none the less.
I would say Modern Sonic's levels are in a way, the weakest. Not to say they can't be fun, but most of them are on the tracks run forward with a lesser nod towards platforming. Modern SOnic's levels are usually the quickest and are a lot of Boost to Win until later in the game where roughshod boosting can send you flying off the edge. Modern Sonic stages are also playable as Shadow, but the only difference seems to be cosmetic (Unless I missed something, I didn't play as Shadow much, feel free to tell me if I am wrong).
Classic Sonic has 2d levels made to look 3d, of course, and they have more branching paths up and down. They play a bit more like actual classic sonic levels and usually seem to have at least three paths that criss-cross each other.
Avatar Levels, that is the levels for your OC, seem to have the most replay-ability, and this is because of something I will talk about when I cover the Avatar system.
There are also a few levels where Modern Sonic and the Avatar team up. These levels are more akin to the Modern Sonic levels with some of the Avatar variability I will elaborate on in the Avatar section.
The main uniting theme between the levels, style aside, is the enemies. The game itself has two difficulty settings, Normal and Hard, and the main difference in this is how hard you get hit. In Normal difficulty, you get his and you lose about 20 rings off your collection, but you are capped on what you can carry at 100 rings max, but most levels have so many rings that Normal should really be called Easy mode.
Hard mode is much more like a Sonic game. You can hold as many rings as you can pick up, but if you get hit, you lose them all (With one exception, mentioned later) and you have to scramble to get them, which I feel is some sort of balance. Normal only loses you 20 rings, but if you can only have your max hundred, it is hard to grab and hold on to your rings, limiting the hits you take. When 200 rings scatter at once, it's easier to nab them.
But all in all, the level itself is more of a threat than the enemies. Most enemies are easy to take care of and are stationary, allowing MSonic to just dash through, CSonic to spin dash or jump on them, or the Avatar to blast or homing attack them, but in my experience, the level itself (Spikes, pitfalls and crushers) are more of a threat, not to say mistiming your dash, or just plain inattentiveness, won't kill you off.
Bosses are few and far between, but they are fun and challenging, although a couple are more mechanically challenging, since lock on can be finicky.
All in all, the levels are fun, overall, and can bring some decent challenges as any character.
The Avatar SystemOne of the major selling points on the game is the ability to make your own Mobian character. Lot of people ended up calling this DeviantArt-The game, but really, I like it. I do wish the body customization was a bit more in depth (Not asking for a titty slider, but some different body styles, maybe addable Stripes/spots/etc. would be nice), the clothing system is a fun little game of dress up (Although the fact that Body is the whole body, instead of having upper and lower body is kinda dorky). You can also choose from a number of different species each with a different passive ability (Although some species are notably absent, like Foxes, Bats and Echidnas. Not even a Chameleon.)
The main variant in your Avatar is the Wispon (Simply a Wisp powered weapon). There are about a half dozen varieties, and it actually adds a special level of replay value to the Avatar stages, considering the wispon has different power moves you can use when you find a wisp, allowing for different styles of exploration with each weapon.
That said, when dealing with most normal enemies, the wispons are very much overpowered and a few even just wipe all enemies off the screen, where as, with a few exceptions, most of them are weak against bosses when compared with your homing attack (Although some are still super powerful on bosses, when you can hit them with it). This means they kinda trivialize normal enemies and are almost useless against bosses, but higher level Wispons also have buffs (Start level with a shield, speed boost on landing, temporary invincibility upon getting 100 rings) that can be helpful or hurtful, but can further vary the play style.
MusicMusic is actually pretty solid. Really all I have to say. only drawback is some levels are too chort to properly hear it all, they might have too much other noise, dialogue, or it might be a Modern Sonic level where the music is softer when you aren't boosting.
StoryStory is, honestly, kind of weak. Not saying it's bad, just rather bland. I feel like they could have played it a bit harder, a bit bleaker, had a couple of boss run in's that will end with an auto-fail to drum up the feel of a war. As someone who was a fan of SatAM, I kinda thought this was going to be more of an actual struggle.
Infinite's design is cool, but as an enemy, is kind of a pansy. Only his last run in is a real challenge and that's more because you have a more strict time limit than any other level. As a character, he's really not anything special, just the cookie cutter "I am strong, you are weak, you lose" and "I can't lose, I am stronger, you got lucky" sort of bullplop.
Eggman...Is Eggman. Really, he's as hammy and great as he always has been. His plan this time around is still pretty effective, and while he makes his usual missteps (Like not killing Sonic first chance he has, which he does have a couple times) he does take over the world and actually comes damn close to a full win. The final boss, one of his mechs, is a serious challenge and, even on normal difficulty, I would have lost if my Avatar wasn't a cat and held onto a single ring if he took a hit with more than one.
Final Rating7.7/10Generally a fun game. Some missteps and definitely not perfect, but not as bad as some people want it to be.
LouisEugenioJR1990
~louiseugenio
I've played through Sonic Forces myself, and I have to say it is a very solid game. Although it may not be the best, it is tolerable in my opinion. I just thought critics were a little too harsh on it.
redrum
~redrum
OP
I think a lot of sonic fans keep expecting too much, and after a perceived home run with Mania, they expected just as much of a Renaissance for the 3D games as Mania did for the 2D
